Pentagon Cuts Ties with SPLC (Liberty Counsel)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Pentagon has now officially disassociated from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization which continually grossly misrepresents and labels pro-family organizations as so-called “hate groups,” after previously using the group’s materials as a resource for the Department of Defense (DOD)’s training on extremism.

The DOD’s Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) previously used the SPLC as a resource on “hate groups.” However, the Daily Caller recently obtained internal DOD emails through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. In a September email from Brian J. Field, assistant U.S. attorney from the Civil Division, he stated; “Additionally, the DEOMI office informed me that, based on a previous FOIA request, DEOMI records concerning, regarding, or related to the preparation and presentation of training materials on hate groups or hate crimes were forwarded … That 133-page document did reference the SPLC; however, based upon guidance from the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity, all references to the SPLC have been removed from any current training.”

The DEOMI is a DOD school that teaches courses in racial, gender and religious equality, among other subject areas like equal opportunity and pluralism, which are available to civilians and service members.

The Pentagon stated in 2014 that it removed the SPLC’s information on “hate groups” but continued to rely on its data in “non-federal reference material” for DEOMI. However, it appears that the DOD’s DEOMI has now completely severed ties with the SPLC.

The FBI also no longer uses the SPLC as a resource on its “hate crimes website.” In addition, the Disciplinary Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice, under President Obama, sharply rebuked and reprimanded attorneys in 2016 for employing the SPLC’s “hate group” label to dismiss a conservative advocacy group. It stated that using the SPLC’s map “overstepped the bounds of zealous advocacy and was unprofessional.” It continued that such behavior is “uncivil” and “constitutes frivolous behavior and does not aid the administration of justice.”

Find more information that exposes the truth about the Southern Poverty Law Center here.

“It is encouraging to know that our nation’s Department of Defense is no longer relying upon the Southern Poverty Law Center as a ‘hate group’ resource for training on extremism,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “The SPLC incites violence and has no credibility to be used as a resource for anyone, especially America’s military. In fact, the SPLC is directly connected to Floyd Corkins, who was convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Act for his attempt to commit mass murder against the Family Research Council. The SPLC needs to be stopped because it has an obvious political agenda and it is putting people’s lives in danger,” said Staver.

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.